Steelers Mailbag: A potential target for Pittsburgh in the NFL Supplemental Draft

With the Pittsburgh Steelers reporting to training camp in less than 3 weeks, fans are starting to get antsy. They want football, and they have questions they want answered. For that reason, and more, the BTSC followers on Twitter provided some great questions for today's mailbag. If you want to submit a question, follow BTSC on Twitter (@btsteelcurtain) and tweet your questions to us for submission into the weekly article.

Let's get right down to it...

From: Nick LaMarca (@iLaMarca)

Question: Anyone in the NFL Supplemental Draft the Steelers might throw a pick in the ring for?

Answer: There are 7 players who are projected to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft. For those who don't know how the system works, let me give you a quick summation. If a team puts a draft pick in for a player, and are awarded that player, they forfeit that draft pick in the following draft. Example - When the Oakland Raiders selected Terrelle Pryor in the 2011 Supplemental Draft, they put up a third round pick, and after getting Pryor lost a third round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

The players available in this draft include: Offensive tackle Isaiah Battle of Clemson, West Georgia defensive tackle Dalvon Stuckey and defensive end Darrius Caldwell, Houston defensive end Eric Eiland, UConn tight end Sean McQuillan, Kansas defensive back Kevin Short and North Carolina Central wide receiver Adrian Wilkins.

The majority of these players are not worth the draft pick, but if there were a potential candidate for the Steelers would be offensive tackle Isaiah Battle from Clemson. Battle started 11 games in 2014 for the Tigers and would be helping the Steelers in a position of need in the future. At offensive tackle, after Marcus Gilbert and Kelvin Beachum, the team has Mike Adams and a handful of other average candidates vying for the backup position. Battle could help solidify the future of the position, even if it is only as a depth player. As for the pick surrendered for taking Battle? If the Steelers were smart they wouldn't surrender anything other lower than a 5th round pick.

The Supplemental Draft is Thursday July 9th, and if I were to put money down, the Steelers don't make a move.

From: Ed Luva (@suave_gent)

Question: Will Dri Archer take over punt return duties this year? Also, will he be used as a WR more because of the DeAgnelo Williams signing?

Answer: Let me tackle this question in two parts. First, I don't see Archer taking over punt return duties, even though he might be given the chance in the preseason. Mike Tomlin isn't afraid, excuse me, 'doesn't live in his fears' in regards to putting Antonio Brown back to return punts. Brown has stated he enjoys returning kicks, and is an elite return man on top of his skills as a WR. In a perfect world Archer would be capable to return punts, but Brown could be used when the team could use a spark, similar to what they did with Santonio Holmes before he left Pittsburgh.

As for Archer as a WR, I think you are spot on. When Le'Veon Bell is out of the lineup due to suspension, you can expect Archer to get more snaps as a WR in packages where Bell might be used as a receiver. Williams is a pure running back and not known for his exceptional ability to catch the football out of the backfield. When Bell returns, expect Archer's snaps to decrease significantly.

From: Vino (@Depeche_Recknor)

Question: Which Steeler has more to prove this season as far as not being seen as a bust?

Answer: The obvious answer is Jarvis Jones. No one is talked about more in terms of being a bust than Jones, but in my opinion, he has company. The company I speak of his Shamarko Thomas. Thomas has just as much to prove as Jones, and both should get the opportunity to prove their worth in 2015. Jones is clearly the winner in this category being a first round pick, but fans shouldn't forget how the Steelers traded up in the draft to take Thomas. If both players fail you can chalk it up to a huge oversight in the draft room.

From: Heather (@SteelersGal86)

Question: ESPN asked fans if they could change one play in Steelers history what would it be. What play would you choose and why?

Answer: This is a tough question considering all the plays you wish went the other way in recent memory. As a 32-year-old fan, I wasn't alive for the dynasty of the 70s, so I've lived through plenty of heartache in my lifetime.

There was the 2001 AFC Championship game, Super Bowl 30 and Neil O'Donnell's two interceptions and Ben Roethlisberger's pick-six in Super Bowl 45. However, in my opinion, none trump the 2004 AFC Championship game, and the play would be when Roethlisberger threw a pick-six to Rodney Harrison and the New England Patriots. If Roethlisberger gets more air under the ball, Jerame Tuman is wide open in the end zone. Roethlisberger throws it flat, it is picked off and taken the distance and the game is out of reach. That team was 15-1 in 2004 and if they win that game could have had back-to-back Super Bowl titles. Still haunts me to this day.

Well, that wraps up this week's mailbag article. If you don't follow us on Twitter, do so (@btsteelcurtain) and provide your question for next week's mailbag article. Football season is right around the corner!